United Nations confirms Geneva, Vienna offices hacked
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Hackers reportedly targeted the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights which collects data on rights abuses across the world
The United Nations said recently that its offices in Geneva and Vienna were targeted by a "well-resourced" cyber attack in the middle of last year that exposed a list of user accounts.
The hack targeted an active user directory, which contained the IDs of the UN staff and devices.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, however, added that "the damage related to the specific attack has been contained and additional measures implemented."
Hackers reportedly targeted the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which collects data on rights abuses across the world.
"The UN responds to multiple attacks at various levels of sophistication on a daily basis, this particular attack is not a landmark event," the spokesman added.
The world body said the hackers "did not compromise sensitive information" while adding that it faces "frequent attempts to access our computer systems".
Post the unprecedented cyber hack, additional mitigation measures have been implemented by the UN amid continuing threats of future attacks.
In June last year, the UN world body had directed its officials not to use WhatsApp to communicate because of it not qualifying as a secured mechanism.
Headquartered in New York, the United Nations has its offices in Geneva, home to to the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for human rights, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization.